


An Inventor's Tale

by Metariolu, nyreineverson



Category: Hazbin Hotel (Web Series)
Genre: AlastorXSirPentious, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Best Friends, Bromance to Romance, Cute Lucifer, Fetish, Fluff, Heartbreak, Human Alastor (Hazbin Hotel), Human Angel Dust (Hazbin Hotel), Human Sir Pentious, Lemon, Moving, Moving In Together, Moving On, Multi, Poor baby!, inventions, pentious needs a hug, sad pentious
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-08
Updated: 2020-03-15
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:20:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22617766
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Metariolu/pseuds/Metariolu, https://archiveofourown.org/users/nyreineverson/pseuds/nyreineverson
Summary: Within the ever-changing city of New York, Sir Edward Pentious aspires to be the next greatest inventor, but he faces many hardships that almost made him give up on his dream. But when he was in the small city of Gretna, Louisiana, he meets a charming young man by the name of  Rodrick McGuffin, who is known by his radio persona Alastor.Alastor will go on to help the dishearted Sir Pentious with getting his invention known to others. But will he succeed at doing so? And if so, who will be the investor?
Relationships: Alastor/Sir Pentious (Hazbin Hotel)
Comments: 17
Kudos: 50





	1. High Hopes

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, Nyrein and Metariolu here, we would like to inform you that the characters within this story are not our creation for they belong to the fantastic creator, Vivziepop. And we're sorry for Alastor's bullshit name, we needed some reason for him to abandon it!!! 
> 
> P.S. If your name is actually Rodrick McGuffin, we don't think your name is bullshit, we just think it's bullshit for Alastor. 
> 
> THANK YOU FOR TUNING IN!!!!
> 
> AND REMEMBER TO SMILE, BECAUSE YOU'RE NEVER FULLY DRESSED WITHOUT ONE!!!

"We're sorry, Mr. Pentious, but we don't think that we'll be able to invest in this invention," says the richest man in all of New York, Charles Goldenfeather.

"B-but you have to!" Pentious drops to his knees. "I need this! I promise you that it isn't just some stupid contraption. Please invest in this one; I know that I won't let you down."

Charles looks at the teary-eyed man and his hard face softens, "Listen, Eddy, you know that we can't face any more losses with your failed inventions." His eyes start to gloss over with tears as he looks up at his wealthy cousin. "I'm sorry, but I told you last time that I'm not going to invest in your silly gizmos," he says sternly.

Pentious gets up while wiping the tears from his face, "My name is Edward, not Eddy, don't act like that we are close."

He scoffs at this comment, "Mighty big words coming from someone who needs my help."

Pentious lets out a small groan as he picks up his invention off of the table and heads towards the door. He turns around when he hears "Goodbye, Edward" as he's slowly opening the door. Pentious turns back around and heads out without a word.

Upon reaching the front lobby, an old acquaintance that is at the front desk greets him, "Hey, EdgeLord!"

Pentious looks beside him and groans, "Ugh, what do you want, Cherri?"

She gets up from her post and walks over to him, "Well, I guess that your cousin didn't want to deal with your tinker toy bullshit, huh?"

Pentious turns up his nose at the offensive comment, "You know, it's very unladylike to curse out in public." Cherri rolls her eyes and goes to sit down back at her desk. Pentious watches this with a tiny smirk on his face, as a token for having won the argument with his most hated classmate from high school.

He walks out the front door of the building, the dark clouds covering the sun began to cry. "Ah shit, I didn't bring my umbrella," he says as he's trying to cover his head with his coat while holding his invention at the same time. When he figures out that he can't take the bus, he decides to run the three blocks to his apartment. The rain pours even heavier as Pentious gets closer to his apartment, "First I get rejected by my cousin, then starts to rain. Can this day get any fucking worse?" It did because when he went to his apartment, he found that his boyfriend was sleeping with no one other than the neighborhood slut, Angelo Ragno. 

Pentious stands in horror as he looks at the clothes strolled everywhere and his boyfriend on top of the harlot. He lets out a series of small whimpers and sniffles as he tries to hold back the tears that will soon be flooding. His boyfriend gets up slowly, "Listen, Eddy, I know that you're upset, but just hear me out."

Pentious steps back with a face full of tears, "No. I don't want to hear shit from you! You lied to me; you told me that you were done with him and now you're seeing him behind my back?"

Pentious's now ex-boyfriend tries to explain himself but gets cut off by Angelo "Sweetie, it's not my fault that your lovely boyfriend here wants an interesting man." He smirks as he says, "Just go ahead and cut your losses and give up because I'm not giving my position with my dear Maxxy." This infuriates Pentious as he tries to hold back the overflowing tears.

"Eddy, don't be like this. I know that you may hate me right now, but Angelo seduced me and-."

"Hold up, you were the one that walked to me in the supermarket and asked me if I wanted to come back to your place," Angelo blurts.

As the two start to fight, Pentious takes the opportunity to get away and go to his room.

When Pentious gets to his room, he flops on his bed face down and cries into his feathered pillow. He hugs the pillow tightly as he sobs quietly, so the two in the living room don't hear. Why? Why did this have to happen to me? Why did that gaped-hole slut have to come between Max and me? Pentious sits up and wipes the tears from his face and says, "This is why I am moving to Louisiana, so I don't have to deal with everyone's bullshit." He reaches over on his bedside table and whips out a travel agent's guide and looks to see the next available bus tickets to Louisiana. A faint smile creeps across the man's face as he begins to pack. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ****************AUTHOR'S SPILL****************  
> *Metariolu hands me a tissue* "It's going to be okay, the audience will understand."  
> *Me (Nyrein) crying in the corner* "Nooooo. I had to do that to my poor baby."  
> Metariolu says, "Listen, you had to do what was necessary to make a good story."  
> *I turn to look up while sniffling* "Really?"  
> *Metariolu pats my head* "Yes."


	2. SOS (Save Our Snake)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a heads up; all thoughts are in italics. Happy reading!

Pentious sat at the bench clutching his bags close. He knew that the bus station would be crowded, but he didn’t know that it would be “I can’t believe I got a seat!” kind of crowded. He silently thanked the travel guide for telling him to get there early. He pushed his hair behind his ear as he looked at his ticket. After doing a quick bit of math, he calculated that it would take him about 33 hours to get to New Orleans. “ _Meaning that I’m stuck on a bus surrounded by strangers going to a place I don’t know_ ,” he thought with a sigh. Maybe he could get a seat by himself?  


His thoughts were halted for a moment when a man with a sleazy grin sat next to him. "Hey there, Hot Mama,” he said, “What's shakin'?" Pentious huffed but said nothing as he looked forward and played with a few strands of hair. He wasn’t about to waste his breath trying to tell the man off, but he will admit that he was uncomfortable. After all, one of the few times he would play with his hair was when he was nervous. However, the man didn’t know this and kept going, “So, where’s a pretty little thing like you headin’?” He tightens the grip on his bags and slowly brought a hand to cover his ticket. He did NOT need this creep following him to his bus and prayed to every holy being that this guy did not have the same bus. The man laughs as he leans in closer, "Such pretty hair,” he raises his hand, “You’ll let me have a touch, won’t you?" You know what? He didn’t need this seat anymore. Nope, that area near the exit looked like a lovely place to stand until his bus was called!   


He shot up, grabbed his bags and quickly made his way near the exit. He only had to wait another 30 minutes before the bus was called. He could stand that long. He stood much longer when working on one of his bigger inventions! His emerald eyes scanned the station. The last thing he needed was to deal with another creep. His eyes trailed back to the bench to glare at the man but were surprised to find two new people sitting there. Where’d he go? He didn’t hear a bus being called, but maybe he went to a gate anyway? Was that what he supposed too? He glanced at his ticket and no one noticed someone coming up behind him.  


At least, not until they heard a loud, high pitched yelp and the crash of luggage. Several people rushed over just as Pentious skittered away from the creep. The guy looked just as shocked as he was, but his hovering hands told the whole story. “ _Did_ ,” he thought as blush lit up his face, “ _did he really just-?_ ” "Excuse me, Miss,” a worker said as he and several others trotted up beside him, “are you okay?" Under every normal circumstance, Pentious would have calmly corrected the worker and told him he was a male, but there was no way that he could even bring his pitch down enough to attempt. "Yes, I'm fine,” he squeaked as he pointed at the creep, “It's just that this pervert decided to pull my hair and grab my behind!" Everyone turned to glare at the man, confusion giving way to horror and disgust. The man nervously put his hands up with a smile, “Oh, come on, babe. Don’t be like that. Is one little argument all it takes to tear us apart?” “Don’t you even try that!” Pentious yelled at his assailant, “We were never in a relationship! I’ve never even met you before today!” The man, thinking that he may have some sway, pouts, “Really? You’re really going to play like this? After how long we spent together? How cold…” Before he could yell again, the worker steps between them and asks, “Miss, may I see your ID?” He nods and hands the worker his ID. He could see the worker’s eyes widen in surprise before nodding, handing the ID back, and turning to the lying creep, “So, if you two were really in a relationship before today, surely you know her name, correct?” The creep paled, “O-Of course I know her name! We’ve been together for years!” “Well then?” another nearby man said, “What’s her name?” The creep started to back up towards the door, “Um, it’s, uh-,” and bolts. “HEY!!” the other man yelled as a small mob gave chase, leaving a surprised worker and Pentious behind. 

  
The stood in silence before the worker cleared his throat, “Well, um, I’m sorry that you had to go through that, Mi-, uh, Sir.” “It’s fine,” Pentious said, finally able to get his breath back, “I just need to get to my bus and I’ll be fine. No matter how far Louisiana is.” The worker perked up, “Oh, are you on the 12:30 bus? Then you might want to line up now. The F gate isn’t far.” He nodded and grabbed his bags off the floor, “Alright. Thank you for your help, by the way.” “No problem, Sir,” he smiled, “You have a nice day.” Pentious nodded and walked further into the terminal. Even though he didn’t say much, he was prepared to thank that worker a hundred times over for protecting him from that creep. “Must pay him well if he does this kind of stuff normally,” he whispered as he looked up to find his gate and realized that he was at gate B with A right in front of him. He looked around to find his gate, but a flood of people began filling the terminal to and from different busses. Keeping his bags close, he tried to push back the way he came since the letters reached in the other direction. But, somehow he had managed to end up back at gate B after walking for 10 minutes. “Shit,” he whispered as he gazed at his watch, “I only have 20 minutes to find my gate.” 

He looks around and spots someone standing on the wall with their luggage. He walks up to him, “Um, excuse me.” “Hm?” he looked at him with a blush on their face, “What is it?” “Do you know where the F gate is?” he asks pulling out his ticket, “I can’t find it and my bus leaves in 20 minutes.” The man looks at the ticket, the blush still heavy on his face, “Um, gate F is that way. We’re actually on the same bus, so it would be better if we walked together. If that’s okay with you, I mean.” Pentious sighs in relief, “That would be perfect, actually. I have a feeling I would just get lost again, and the sooner I leave this station the better.” The man chuckled as he helped Pentious carry one of his bags, “I bet. You seem tired, but don’t worry. No creep will come near you as long as I’m around.” " _I didn’t say anything about creeps_ ," he thought, but he shrugged it off and followed the man to the gate. After finding the gate and lining up, Pentious had managed to get a window seat in the front half of the bus. The guy that helped him earlier took the seat next to him, but Pentious didn’t mind too much. So far the guy proved to be much safer than the other people that he could have been next to. As long as he kept to himself, the trip would go by in no time.

He distracted himself by watching the towering evergreens gaze at the foreign metal object invading their territory. He had been reading a book before, but that grew tiresome after a while. " _I mean really_ ," Pentious thought to himself, " _Why would you promise a witch you just met that you would take your family to her house in a place you deny seeing? Turkish Delight can’t be that good, whatever it is. I wonder what happens next._ " He leaned against the window. " _Though, that should be a question for myself. I still have the money I saved, but I had to use some of it to get the bus ticket. I’ll need to get a job, but I don’t know how much a house or an apartment is down there. Will I even have enough for a down payment? Or food, for that matter. Will I have to walk far to find a job? Will I even be qualified for a job if I don’t like talking to people? He sighed and closed his eyes. Maybe I should have planned this better. The last thing I need is to get to Louisiana and end up living under a bridge._ "

He was so lost in thought that he didn’t know that his riding buddy was staring at him from the corner of his eye, his hands firmly in his lap. When Pentious closed his eyes, the man’s face completely turned to him. After maybe a minute of thought, the man wiped his hands on his pant legs and lifted his arms like he was stretching. When he brought his arms down, he subtly let if fall over the back of Pentious’s seat, not touching Pentious, but just barely. He brought his arm closer and just grazed those ebony locks before emerald eyes snapped open. He froze in place, but just as Pentious was about to say something he put his hand fully on the back of his chair and pulled himself up to sit a little straighter. “Sorry about that,” the man chuckled, “Was trying to pull myself up.” Pentious relaxed a bit, “That’s fine.” He really couldn’t fault the man for trying to make himself more comfortable on this cramped bus. He just leaned back against the window and closed his eyes. It was going to take a few hours to get to their final stop, so he might as well get some sleep. He’s sure he’ll have come up with a plan by then.


	3. SOS (Save Our Snake) part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nyrein: *hands chapter outline* Here, I can't do it. Bye!  
> Meta: *confused* Wait! What do you mean!? *reads outline* Oh. God. Why.
> 
> Yeah, this chapter got dark pretty quickly, so if attempted rape or sexual assault is a trigger, skip the part in "*"s

The hours couldn’t pass soon enough. Hours of sitting and sleeping and hoping you make it to the next stop without eating or going to the bathroom. He was glad that he didn’t sweat much because going this long without a shower was miserable. By the time the bus finally reached New Orleans, he could recite half of the lines in his book and thought of several new inventions to help with bus riding in the future. Though, he still had no idea on what to do next. “ _33 hours of sleeping and sitting and you still didn’t think of a plan?_ ” he chastised in his head, “ _Time wasted on a book._ ” He took out his travel guide and turned to a small map of Louisiana, “ _Well, since we’re here, let’s think of our next step, shall we?_ ” He felt a gaze on his back and turned to see his riding partner, “So, um, you got a place to stay? I can walk with you if you want.” Pentious smiled, “That’s nice of you, but I’m afraid it might take a while. Didn’t really think about booking a room or even finding where to go before coming here.”

  
He almost missed the glint in the other man’s eyes before he smiled and said, “Well, I know a good place to set up for the night. It’s not too far. I could lead you there, on one condition.” Pentious raised an eyebrow and turned to the man fully, distrust and skepticism obvious on his features, “And what would that be?” The man chuckled as he out stretched his hand, “I would like to know your name. Mine’s Kyle.” He relaxes, a natural smile coming to his face, as he grasped Kyle’s hand, “Edward Pentious. And thanks for being so helpful.” Kyle froze for a moment before he chuckled again, “Edward, huh? Didn’t expect that coming from a pretty little thing like you.” He turned to the door and looked at Pentious over his shoulder, “Shall we?” Pentious nods and they both head out of the station together.

  
They walked for about 3 blocks and Pentious took in the sights around him. There were dozens of bars and shops with music pouring out of every door. “ _It’s much more active here than I thought it would_ ,” He thought as he drifted closer to Kyle, “ _Not as busy as New York, but close._ ” His musing was interrupted when Kyle suddenly turned down an alley, “This way! Wouldn’t want you getting lost in the crowd!” He paused at the mouth of the alley. There wasn’t much of a crowd out this time of night, but the thought of getting mixed up in an outside bar fight was not very appealing. He followed Kyle though the twists and turns of the alley, acutely aware of the fading sounds of the busy street, before Kyle pinned him to the wall.

**************************************************************************************************************************************************

  
“What do you think you’re doing?!” he yelled, the arms on the sides of his head blocking the view of the alley. Kyle put a finger to his mouth and shushed him, “Keep your voice down, babe. You’ll wake the neighbors.” Kyle cupped his cheek as he moved closer, “The last thing I want to do is have our fun ruined by a noisy old lady.” Pentious slapped the hand away from his face and tried to push Kyle back, “What kind of nonsense are you spouting?! I thought we were going to-!” “And we are,” Kyle huffed, “I said I would lead you to a place to stay the night, but that was on the condition you told me your name.” “But I DID tell you my name!” his voice was picking up pitch, “My name is Edward Pentious!” “Bull shit,” Kyle growled, “I know your type. You like to dress in men’s clothes and use your husband’s name. Well, little lady, I don’t want HIS name. I want yours. And we’re not taking another step until I get it.” Pentious shoved Kyle away, “You’re out of your mind! Anyone with even HALF a brain would know that I’m male, not a woman parading around to be anything but! And if you are too blind to see that, then I would rather take a chance and find a place on my own!”

  
Pentious grabbed his bags and made it a few feet away before he felt a strong tug at the end of his hair. He held his hair as he turned to glare daggers at Kyle who held the other end smugly. “I’m afraid I can’t let you do that,” he said pulling the hair again, “See, I don’t care if we make it to a hotel or not. Besides, I have a few friends I want you to meet.” Pentious froze when he heard several footsteps echo in the alley, “Took you long enough, Kyle.” Kyle shrugged as several men surrounded them, “I told you that I was on a long trip, but don’t I always complete my deals?” They chuckled as Kyle continued, “I even got you a good one this time. Found this little lovely in New York. She does have a bit of a rebellious streak, keeps pretending to be a guy, but I’m sure you can fix that.” Pentious tries to pull free as the men get closer, but he doesn’t want to damage his hair. “ _All these years of trying to maintain it and now it’s a handicap?_ ” he thought as tears came to his eyes, “ _What a waste._ ” 

  
He felt pressure on his arm and quickly elbowed the man. “Don’t you DARE touch me!” he hissed. Another man grabbed him and shoved him onto the hard pavement as he kicked, “LET GO OF ME!” “Noisy little bitch, isn’t she?” the leader said as he turned to Kyle, “I think we can handle this from here. Beat it.” Kyle finally let go of his hair, “Alrighty then,” he stoops in front of Pentious, “Well, glad to have met you at least. Try to be good, alright?” “You little-!” was all Pentious could say before Kyle stood up and disappeared down the many alleys. Once the sound of footsteps faded, the leader smiled, his gold tooth shining in the dim light, “Now, let’s see what kind of prize we got this time.” Pentious struggled as the men started to pull at his clothes, “NO! LET GO OF ME! STOP IT!!” The sound of his favorite shirt ripping stilled him for a moment before he felt a cold hand on his chest. “Lovely pale skin,” one of them mused, “Too bad you’re flat.” “Maybe that’s how she got away with being a guy so long,” another one laughed. The sound of a belt being undone made his blood run cold, “Will you two just shut up and strip her already? I’m tired of waiting, right boss?” The boss chuckled, “Sure, I wouldn’t mind moving this show along.” “NO! PLEASE!” Pentious sobbed, “NOT THIS! ANYTHING BUT THIS! PLEASE!” The boss grinned, “Sorry, babe. You’re stuck with us tonight. But don’t worry, we’ll take real good care of you.~”

*************************************************************************************************************************************************

  
“Well, I SERIOUSLY doubt that,” a new voice boomed, “Not only is this the WORST place for this kind of activity, the lady CLEARLY doesn’t want to share a bed with any of you.” One of the men growled, “Who do you think you-!” before the sentence died in his throat when he saw a wide smile staring back at him. The boss was clearly shaken too when he said, “Shit! Not this guy again! Leave the bitch, we’re leaving!” They dropped Pentious and left as quickly as they came, leaving only Pentious and this newcomer in the alley alone. He folded his arms to shield his face as he cried. He didn’t want to see the newcomer. If they could scare off a group of thugs without even touching them, what would stop them from hurting him? All he could do was lay there and hope that they would just leave him alone.

  
Pentious flinched when he heard the footsteps come closer and had to keep himself from crying even harder. He needed to be ready to fight, even though he was sure he wouldn't get far. He stayed still when he heard them stoop in front of him and waited to see what they would do. They stayed quiet for a minute before they said, “You know, you’ll catch a cold if you keep lying on the floor.” Pentious lifted his head and hazel eyes stared back at him. The man smiles sympathetically as he extends his hand, “Would you like some help?” Pentious stared at the brown haired man for a while before taking his hand and letting himself be picked up off the ground. The moment he was on his feet, the man backed away to let Pentious dust off his pants as he picked up bit and pieces of his shirt, “Sorry to say this, but I don’t think you can wear this shirt anymore.” Pentious sighed and started to collect the sharps of his shirt as he mumbled, “This was my favorite lucky shirt. First, the invention, then rain, then he leaves me for that whore, then that guy at the station, and just when I think that I finally found someone I can trust they lead me down a dark alley and leave me to be raped by some random thugs. Is it too late to go home? At least I know where to go if something happens.”

  
His distressed mumbling was stopped when he felt a light weight and warmth on his shoulders. He looked to see that it was the red tailcoat that the man was wearing. When he looked at him, the man just smiled and said, “Well, we can’t have you walking around without a shirt. Male or not, you need to have SOME decency.” Pentious hesitated but put on the coat properly as the man looked over the alley and spotted the bags, “So, you’re new here? Would explain how Val got a hold of you.” “Val?” he whispered, “Which one was he?” “The boss,” the man said with a chuckle, “Big Boss Valentino, leader of Louisiana’s own mafia and the biggest burden this side of the Mississippi. Name’s known around here, but I wouldn’t go saying it in public unless you know you’re safe.” Pentious nodded before freezing and backing away from the man, “Wait, what do you mean by safe? You’re not one of them, are you?” The man smiled but it was tighter than his other smiles, “The day I work under that bug is the day I eat my own feet and join the circus,” his smile softens a bit, “You have nothing to fear from me. For now, we should get you somewhere safe.” He turns to walk away until Pentious asks, “Where are you going? I thought the exit was that way.” “To Main Street, yes,” he said, “However, I prefer to drive. Much safer than walking around with luggage.” “U-Um,” he stuttered, “Look, I-I don’t mean to be rude, but how do I know that you’re telling the truth? You may have saved me, and I am thankful for that, but it’s been a rough few days.” The man turns to him and hums in thought, “Well, judging from what I saw, you do have a point.” He snaps his fingers, “I know! Do you happen to have a map on you?” Pentious hands him his travel guild and the man pulls out a pen. 

  
He scribbles for a bit before showing Pentious and pointing at a circle, “This map is slightly outdated, but if you head to this mark there’s a bar with a payphone there. There should be enough change in my coat pocket to cover the toll, but call the police and they can get you where you need to go.” He points to another circle, “This is Cypress Motel. It’s in Gretna, so it’s safer than New Orleans without being too far. Just tell them I sent you and they should be able to get you settled for the night.” He hands it back and Pentious relaxed a bit when he saw that the marks lined up with what he saw on the way there. He also did see that there was a parking lot nearby. “ _Maybe he’s not lying?_ ” he thought as the man started to walk away, “ _I mean, it’s less embarrassing than walking into a bar, calling the police, and having them drive me out to the motel just to say that-. That, um?_ ” “Wait!” he called before the man got too far, “You never told me your name.” The man paused for what seemed like eternity before nearly doubling over in laughter. “Where are my manners?” he laughed wiping a tear from his eye, “I do hope you’ll forgive me,” he extended his hand, “Rodrick McGuffin. However, I prefer to be called Alastor.” He shook his hand, “Edward Pentious. If it’s not too much trouble, could you drive me to the motel? I don’t want to wait at a bar with luggage.” Alastor nods and smiles, “Of course! It’s no trouble at all!” He effortlessly slung one of the heavier bags onto his shoulder, “We’d best get a move on. Have to be at work in the morning.” Pentious just nodded as he grabbed his other bag and followed Alastor to his car.

  
The ride was mostly silent save for the soft jazz coming through the radio. Alastor did push Pentious to tell him what happened before he showed up, so Pentious just kept quiet and stared out the window, silently checking the map every now and then to make sure they were still going the right way. When they found the small motel, Alastor parked and said, “Wait here for a moment.” In a show of faith, he left the keys in the car to show that Pentious could get out or drive away at any time. He walked up to the receptionist who recognized him immediately, “Hello, Franklin!” 

“Alastor!” she responded sweetly, “Welcome back! I haven’t seen you in ages! Been hiding from me again?” 

“Not even close, my dear,” he chuckled, “Work’s kept me busy, and you know how well that goes.” 

She chuckled, “Oh, I know what you mean.” She flipped through the book on her desk, “Are you booking your usual room tonight? We can always move those brats to another room.”

He nods, “Yes, but not for me, this time. Put it under the name of ‘Edward Pentious’.” 

She cocked her head, “Edward Pentious? Haven’t heard that one before. A new alias?”

He shook his head, “No. The name of one of Val’s newest targets. Just got into town and he was almost raped in an alley. Had I not been strolling around that time, who knows what would have happened to him.” 

“Poor thing,” she says as she scribbles the name down in the book and hands him the room key, “Here you go. He’s all set til tomorrow night.” He takes the key and smiles, “Thank you, dear.” She waves as he heads out the door.

  
Pentious was close to falling asleep when Alastor came back. He opened the door and handed him a key, “Here you go! The owner said you’re set until tomorrow night. Do you need help with your bags?” Pentious shook his head, “No. I’ve asked far too much of you already.” He got his bags out of the car and looked at Alastor, “Thank you for your help. It really means a lot.” He smiled, “No need to thank me. I’m sure anyone would have done the same.” Pentious was about to walk away before he noticed that he was still wearing Alastor’s tailcoat. “Do you want this back?” he said gesturing to the red fabric, “I can take it off here, since the room’s not far.” “Um,” Alastor said with a slight blush, “How about I come and get it in the morning? The motel is on route with work, so I can just swing by then.” Pentious nods, “Tomorrow it is, then.” He smiles softly as he starts towards the motel, “Well, good night, Alastor. Thanks for everything.” Alastor waved, “Good night, Mr. Pentious. I’ll see you in the morning.” Alastor got back into his car and didn’t leave until he saw Petious safely disappear into the correct room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nyrein: Yay, Pentious is finally safe and Alastor is here! Leave a comment to tell us how we did and have a good day! *turns* Meta, you okay?  
> Meta: *sobbing*


	4. It's A Date (but not really)

Pentious didn’t know how long he slept. His dreams were empty and time seemed to stop the moment he collapsed on the motel’s bed. The only indication that time had passed was the sound of birds. He sat up and ran his fingers through his hair only to wince when they snagged on something. He looked in the mirror and cringed at what he saw. His eyes looked tired, his hair was tangled beyond belief, and smudges of dirt was caked onto him. “I think a shower is in order,” he whispered to himself as he collected his things from his suitcase. He took note of the red coat Alastor lent him and was glad to see it void of dirt and hair. “ _ It’s still dark outside, _ ” he thought as he looked at the clock on the wall, “ _ He said that he would come in the morning to get his coat back, so I should have time to sort myself out before then. _ ” 

When the shower finally heated up, Pentious savored the feeling of warm water on his skin. All the grim from yesterday was sent down the drain as he detangled his hair with his hands, careful when he came across any stubborn knots. All the while, he thought of his current lot in life. After all, he was still in an area he knew almost nothing about with nothing to his name other than his clothes, his tools, and scrap metal. “ _ Not much to start a new life with _ ,” he sighed as he dried off. He looked at the flower robe that his mother had given him. While unbecoming for a male to wear such a thing, he couldn’t deny that the robe was soft and convenient when he had to wait for his hair to dry. Besides, it was a gift and he was glad that she had thought of him. Wrapped in nothing but a robe, he went to the vanity in the main room to brush his hair while it dried.

He brushed for what seemed like ages, a calm atmosphere filling the room, until a small noise made him pause mid stroke. Well, it was more of a loud creaking of a door being open but it sounded small with how peaceful it was. But that peace he felt melted into panic when he turned to see Alastor standing at the door, wide eyed and clearly at a loss for words. Though, that lasted for maybe three seconds before Pentious screamed and pulled his robe tighter around him. Alastor, the whole situation now dawning on him, quickly covered his eyes and turned away with a blush, “I am so sorry! I forgot you were here for the night and just walked in without saying a word! Had I known, I would have knocked!” “You should have done that in the first place!” he yelled, his own blush obvious on his face, “You don’t just walk into a house or a room without at least making sure that no one’s there!” “And you’re right!” Alastor said backing up out of the room, “I should not have done that! To fix this, I will come back in a few minutes! This time, I will remember to knock!” And with that he closed the door, the awkward tension still heavy in the air.

He stayed still until the sound of footsteps quickly disappeared. He relaxed a bit and rushed to his bag to get his outfit when he remembered that Alastor would be back in only a few minutes. By the time he was done, he was dressed in a dark navy shirt neatly tucked inside gray pants with a gray vest sitting nearby as he tied his tie. He was thankful that his hair had dried enough to not drip onto his clothes, but he kept his towel close just in case. He had just buttoned up his vest when he heard a too quiet knock at his door. He silently debated on whether or not to just leave Alastor standing there to teach him a lesson but decided to have mercy on him when he remembered that Alastor had work to get to.

He opened the door to see Alastor standing there with a slightly tighter smile. The blush on his face was barely visible when he cleared his throat and said, “Good morning, my dear! Did you sleep well?” Pentious nodded as he played with a few strands of hair, “Yes. It’s been quite a peaceful morning, even with that earlier...fiasco.” Alastor cringed when he brought that back up, “I am truly sorry about that. This is normally the room I book, so I may have fallen into routine and forgotten that you were here.” He glared down the stairs and whispered, “Honestly, why did Franklin give me the room key knowing you were still using the room? I swear I’ll never be able to figure out what that woman’s thinking.” Pentious chuckled and smoothed the strands he was playing with back into place, “Well, I guess I can forgive you. You did save me last night, after all.” 

He walked over to the bed and folded the red coat over his arm, “You came for this, correct?” Alastor nodded and smiled at the sight of his coat, “Yes. One of my favorites really. Rarely go anywhere without it.” “Really?” he asked as Alastor put on his coat, “I’m surprised that you would leave it with a complete stranger. Anything could have happened to it.” “Yes, well,” Alastor said while smoothing out any wrinkles, “you didn’t seem like the type to destroy something for no reason. Not to mention that you are new to the area and much too tired to just up and run off, so I knew that you would stay in one place long enough to get my coat back.” He straightened up, “Still, it’s unfortunate that you had to go through something like that on your first day here. I have to go to work for the time being, but would you care to join me for lunch? I know a diner a short walk away from here.” Pentious thought for a moment. He was skeptical, since the last time he trusted someone to quick lead him to that alley, but he couldn’t find a reason to doubt Alastor. The diner being in walking distance meant that Alastor couldn’t try and kidnap him by car, and it even gave him a chance to learn the area while having a safe space to retreat to. “ _ A win win situation no matter how you look at it _ ,” he thought, “ _ Even if I say no, it still leaves enough time to get away with him at work. If he is dangerous, I know enough to report him to the police. _ ” Pentious nodded, “Lunch would be nice. A good chance to learn the area.” “Great!” he said, “Then I shall see you again soon! Does 12:30 work for you?” He nodded, “That’ll be fine. I’ll see you then.” He watched and waved as Alastor disappeared down the stairs and drove away in his car.

He didn’t really know what to do with himself for the rest of the morning. The motel gave him breakfast, unheard of everywhere else, and he didn’t have enough thread to fix his shredded shirt. He thought about working on the project he brought with him, but he was too paranoid about losing even a single screw. In the end, he started to write a letter home to his parents. He wrote about his condition and whereabouts, but didn’t go into detail about what exactly happened in the last few days. It wouldn’t be good for them to send a search party for him and drag him back to New York after he worked so hard to get here. When he was done with his little letter, he folded it and tucked it away in his vest. “ _ I’ll send it when I have a proper address _ ,” he thought as he looked at the clock, “ _ Alastor should be here in a few minutes. Better clean up _ .” 

By the time he straightened up the room and brushed back a few stray hairs, a knock at the door alerted him. He opened the door to see Alastor standing there just as the clock showed 12:30. “ _ Right on time _ ,” he thought as Alastor greeted him. “Hello again, my dear,” he said, “As you can see, I remembered to knock this time!” He stepped out of the way and gestured forward, “Shall we be off?” Pentious nodded and walked out of the room, locking the door behind him, “Where are we going?” “A little place called The Nifty Corner Cafe,” he said as they reached the bottom of the stairs, “It’s a lovely little place with good food, nice staff, and atmosphere I think you’ll enjoy.”On the way, Pentious asked questions almost non stop. What was this place? Why was the street named that? Why was there a street band? Almost anything that could be asked was and, luckily, Alastor was more than willing to answer them. By the time they reached the cafe, Pentious knew so much useless trivia that people could mistake him as a tour guide.

Alastor held the door open for him, allowing Pentious to take in the new sight. It was a little diner complete with checkered floors, a dark oak bar with pink top stools, and pink booth seats. Each table had a little metal poodle holding up specials on its nose with all the normal condiments and sugar packets sitting behind it. He opted to sit in a booth seat and when he sat down he could hear a bit of music coming from the jukebox over the normal chatter of the diner. Alastor sat on the other side of the table, “So, what do you think?” Pentious smiled, “Not bad. A bit higher class than what I was expecting and the decorations are nice too. Not a fan of the music, but it carries some nostalgia with it so I don’t mind.” Alastor opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by a waiter. He gave them menus and greeted, “Hello hello! Thank you for stopping by! What drink can I get you two today?” Alastor didn’t need to look at the menu, “Sweet tea, please.” Pentious looked for a few seconds, “Vanilla milkshake, thank you.” The waiter nodded and jotted it down, “Okay, one sweet tea and one vanilla milkshake. I’ll be right back to get your order.”

When the waiter came back with their drinks and left with their order, Alastor said, “As I was saying before, what brought you to Louisiana? I heard you mumble something about an invention yesterday, so I assume it had something to do with that?” Pentious took a sip before he sighed, “Well, I was hoping to find an investor for my inventions here since I didn’t have any luck up in New York. Not a good start, but I’ll manage somehow.” Alastor tilted his head, “Not to be rude, but isn’t New York a haven for inventors? There are more than enough people on Wall Street alone to jump onto a new idea.” “I’ve tried,” Pentious said, “but none of them would take me seriously. The only one who would was a cousin of mine, but he didn’t want to waste anymore time with me.” Pentious looked out the window, “Though, I knew it was coming. That’s why I had planned to move here anyway with my significant other, but…” Alastor put his drink down, “But what?” Pentious sighed, fighting back his tears, “He left me. He cheated on me with another man in our house. I couldn’t stay there after that, so I took the first bus from New York to Louisiana and here I am.” Alastor sat in silence for a moment before lifting his drink and asking, “If you don’t mind me asking, how long have you been with this man?” Pentious didn’t move as he said, “Four years.” He jerked as quickly turned to Alastor when he heard him choke. “Four years!?” he said between coughs, “You’ve been with this man for four years and he had the gall to sleep with someone else!?” He brought his voice down and glared at nothing in particular, “Absolutely foul. To think that there are people who would do such underhanded things. If I never meet this man, it will be too soon.” Pentious chuckled, “It’s flattering that you would be so upset on my behalf, but I just want to move on and put this behind me.”

The waiter came back with their orders. “Okay, I got a jambalaya for the gentleman,” he said putting the plate down in front of Alastor, “and a grilled chicken salad for the lady.” Pentious bristled, “Actually, we are both males, thank you very much.” The waiter stared for a moment before sputtering, “Oh! I’m sorry! I didn’t think and just assumed! I apologize!” Pentious smiled, “It’s fine. Happens a lot, unfortunately.” After the waiter retreated, they ate in relative silence, the sound of the diner and jukebox being the only sounds between them. When they finished, they paid the bill, left the waiter a hefty tip and started their walk back to the motel.

On the way Alastor asked, “What do you plan on doing now?” Pentious scratched his head, “I’m not quite sure. I’ll need to find a house, but then I’ll need to quickly find a job to pay for everything. Not an easy thing to do, since I’ve never done common work before. I could find a job first, but paying the motel everyday could be taxing after a while.” Alastor thought for a moment before saying, “You know, I have a friend in the housing market, and I was meaning to go house hunting for a while now. Would you like to join me? We can set up a time and date and pick you up then.” Pentious stopped and stared at him with wide eyes, “Really? But, you’ve done so much already.” “Edward,” he said stopping right next to him, “there’s no need to be shy about this. You’ve just made the decision to live here and you clearly need a little help until you can get your bearings. I’m more than happy to help you.” “But that’s just it,” Pentious said, “I’ve only known you for a day, and yet you saved me from thugs, answered my questions, took me out to eat, and offered to take me house hunting. I’ve been nothing but nice, and I can’t hope to repay you for it.” Alastor laughed and started walking again, “Then don’t, my dear. After all, everyone needs help now and then. Just think of this as paying it forward.” They walked until they reached the motel parking lot and Alastor’s car. He stopped next to it, “So, what day were you planning on going house hunting?” Alastor hummed in thought, “In a few days, actually. It’s the only day I have off and the only time she has open until next month. Will that work for you?” Pentious nodded, “The sooner the better, honestly. I want to find a place before money gets too tight.” “Alright then,” Alastor said, “I’ll swing by to keep you up to date until the day. For now, I must be off.” Pentious nodded and took a step back from the car, “Alright. See you tomorrow.” He waved until Alastor was out of sight in his car and couldn’t stop the smile on his face, “ _ Guess my luck hasn’t run out yet _ .”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Took way too much time to get this done, but here you go. We hope you enjoy! \\(^0^)/


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